Cases

Cases in Date Order

• Thomas Lak c. Ann Munden
  This case has a dramatic allegation. It starts with an ordinary path to marriage: Ann Munden made a contract of marriage with Thomas Lak in early January 1482 and then banns were read in church on three successive Sundays prior to the plannedContinue reading “Thomas Lak c. Ann Munden”
• Agnes Whitingdon c. John Ely
  In January 1487, Agnes Whitingdon sued John Ely to enforce a marriage contract they allegedly made in September 1486. Ely claimed he had not contracted marriage with her, although they had had some discussions about it: he laid out a specific dowry heContinue reading “Agnes Whitingdon c. John Ely”
• Agnes Waltham c. Richard Heth
  Agnes Waltham sued Richard Heth in 1487 to enforce a marriage contract she said they had made. The testimony reveals some interesting evidence about neighbourhood surveillance of relationships: one of the witnesses, John Gosnell, said that he had confronted Heth about his improperContinue reading “Agnes Waltham c. Richard Heth”
• John Croke c. Agnes Hill
  The surviving testimony for this suit is incomplete, but reveals some interesting things about a marriage between two offspring of London’s civic elite. In February 1487, John Croke sued Agnes Hill to enforce a marriage contract. The only complete testimony is from JohnContinue reading “John Croke c. Agnes Hill”
• John Halyday c Margaret Partrich
  In 1487, John Halyday sued Margaret Partrich to enforce a marriage contract they allegedly made in June 1486; all that survives is the defendant’s examination. Partrich acknowledged in her testimony that Halyday approached her with the intention of contracting marriage, but she saysContinue reading “John Halyday c Margaret Partrich”
• John Palmer c. Christopher Manser
  In February 1487, John Palmer sued Christopher Manser over unpaid debts. The witnesses both testify that sometime during the first three weeks of Lent (February or early March) 1486 they heard Manser acknowledging that he owed money to Palmer and swearing an oathContinue reading “John Palmer c. Christopher Manser”
• Joan Austy c. William Codding
  This case involves a complicated love quadrangle and allegations of poisoning in Whitechapel on the east end of London. We have in the Consistory records only the February 1487 examination of the defendant, William Codding, perhaps some months into the case (other recordsContinue reading “Joan Austy c. William Codding”
• Richard Tymond c. Margery Sheppard
  Around mid-year in 1487, Richard Tymond sued Margery Sheppard to enforce a marriage contract they allegedly made in May 1486. When examined, Sheppard said that Tymond had urged her to marry him in late March and again in late June 1486, but sheContinue reading “Richard Tymond c. Margery Sheppard”
• Alice Norman c. William Clerk
  This is a case about the last will and testament of a woman, Maude Mig, who died of leprosy around 1487. She and her husband had been judicially separated at the time of her death. The grant of separation, which allowed them toContinue reading “Alice Norman c. William Clerk”
• John Tailour c. Agnes Fry
  In late June 1487, John Tailour sued the widow Agnes Fry to enforce a marriage contract he alleged they had made the previous April. Fry herself testified that when Tailour had first asked her to marry him, she had told him he wouldContinue reading “John Tailour c. Agnes Fry”
• John Brocher c. Joan Cardif alias Peryn
  In July 1487, John Brocher sued a young Essex widow, Joan Cardif alias Peryn, to enforce a marriage contract he claimed they had made the previous April. The witnesses – who included Cardif’s own mother and stepfather, both of whom testified against herContinue reading “John Brocher c. Joan Cardif alias Peryn”
• John Pollyn and William Thaccher c Agnes Parker
  This is a three-cornered suit: two men, John Pollyn and William Thaccher, sued Agnes Parker 1487, each claiming they had made a contract of marriage with her. Earlier testimony in the case outlining Pollyn’s case has evidently been lost; what we have hereContinue reading “John Pollyn and William Thaccher c Agnes Parker”
• Richard Crocheman c. William Baldewyn
  In July 1487, Richard Crocheman sued William Baldewyn for defamation: Baldewyn had repeatedly over the last six weeks called Crocheman a sheep thief. The witnesses, all from Barking in Essex (as presumably were also Crocheman and Baldewyn), paid close attention to the legalContinue reading “Richard Crocheman c. William Baldewyn“
• Office c. Sir Richard Wodehous and Agnes Wilson [?]
  In July 1487 a widow, Agnes Wilson, of Staines, Middlesex, or somewhere nearby, was examined regarding allegations that she and the local vicar, Sir Richard Wodehous, were engaging in a sexual relationship. [Note that “Sir” was the honorific title used for priests asContinue reading “Office c. Sir Richard Wodehous and Agnes Wilson [?]“
• Beatrice Smyth c John Crote
  In July 1487, Beatrice Smyth sued John Crote to enforce a marriage contract she claimed they had made around 1482 while Crote lay ill in a chamber in the tower of the parish church of St Michael Queenhithe, where he worked. Witnesses testifiedContinue reading “Beatrice Smyth c John Crote”
• Alice Rokewode c Peter Hanham
  This case offers a rare instance of a man claiming he could only marry with his family’s consent. In November 1487, Alice Rokewood sued Peter Hanham to enforce a marriage contract she claimed they had made in 1485. Rokewode had two witnesses whoContinue reading “Alice Rokewode c Peter Hanham”
• Thomas Byrch c. Elizabeth Barker
  The examinations in this case do not much concern the marriage case in question, in which (we can infer) Thomas Byrch claimed that he had made a contract of marriage with Elizabeth Barker three years before, which she denied; Christopher Rotherey, the firstContinue reading “Thomas Byrch c. Elizabeth Barker“
• Sir John Hode c. Master John Row
  Here we see an altercation between priests over a breviary, a book containing the “divine office” for each day, which priests used to conduct church services. The Consistory paid special attention to allegations of violence against priests – even in a case suchContinue reading “Sir John Hode c. Master John Row“
• John Call c. Elizabeth Hertford
  In this defamation case, Elizabeth Hertford of Islington was accused of grievously insulting her neighbour John Call, calling him a thief, a cuckold, and various other names (accusations that tell us some interesting things about the construction of masculine gender identity). The legalContinue reading “John Call c. Elizabeth Hertford“
• Margaret Niter and Agnes Skern c. Piers Curtes
  This is a juicy case that brought in some of the highest in the land to pressure a reluctant man to go through with a marriage. In January 1488, widows Agnes Skern and Margaret Niter both sued Piers Curtes, each claiming that heContinue reading “Margaret Niter and Agnes Skern c. Piers Curtes”
• Alice Parker c. Richard Tenwinter
  This case involves ambiguous promises and different interpretations of the meaning of sex. Alice Parker probably lived in the parish of St Nicholas Shambles by the butchers’ stalls towards the western edge of city of London. She received a visit in December 1487Continue reading “Alice Parker c. Richard Tenwinter“
• William Halley c. Agnes Wellis
  In this case, we see Agnes Wellis, a young woman living with her widowed mother and her new husband, courted by William Halley, a young man with a “pretty livelihood.” At the request of Agnes Wellis’s mother, a neighbour, Henry Brond, took onContinue reading “William Halley c. Agnes Wellis“
• Alice Billingham c John (or Thomas) Wellis
  In 1488, Alice Billingam sued John Wellis, claiming that they had contracted marriage on Valentine’s Day 1486. The witnesses for the case had interesting things to say about how an employer might try to find a husband or wife for a servant; whatContinue reading “Alice Billingham c John (or Thomas) Wellis”
• William Hawkyns c. Margaret Heed
  In 1488, Margaret Heed, daughter of a wealthy London merchant, agreed to marry William Hawkyns, another merchant and clearly her father’s choice. As the witnesses testify, Margaret Heed said the binding words of a marriage contract several times in front of a numberContinue reading “William Hawkyns c. Margaret Heed“
• Enquiry into an accidental death in building an anchorhold
  In June 1488, a worker, John Ferres, was killed while doing demolition work on a house being renovated for the enclosure of an anchorite, a person who for spiritual reasons chose to live enclosed in a cell attached to a church, in thisContinue reading “Enquiry into an accidental death in building an anchorhold”
• John Hill and Emma Wright c. Elizabeth Leg alias Hill 
  Despite the rigid once-you’re-married-it’s-for-life nature of medieval Catholic marriage, in practice people practised some DIY when it came to marriage dissolution. The case had two alleged self-divorces. It is a bit complicated, but here’s a guess at the back-story. Around 1469 or 1470,Continue reading “John Hill and Emma Wright c. Elizabeth Leg alias Hill “
• Ann Styward c. Richard Styward
  When Ann, the widow of tallowchandler Richard Alpe and mother of four underage children, married another tallowchandler, Richard Styward, in early 1488, something resembling a nightmare resulted. By Styward’s own admission, after their marriage was solemnized, he “violently and seriously beat” her andContinue reading “Ann Styward c. Richard Styward“
• Sir John Bolsar c. Thomas Pumpe
  There’s some interesting evidence about local conflict-resolution through arbitration in this case. It involves a quarrel between a vicar and a layman about rent on a piece of land; there is also something obscure about the defendant having to perform penance, which mayContinue reading “Sir John Bolsar c. Thomas Pumpe”
• Joan Essex c. Agnes Badcock
  In late September 1488, Agnes Badcock allegedly accused a neighbour, Joan Essex, of committing adultery with Agnes’s husband John. The testimony offered by four men who lived nearby is fascinating and appalling in various ways: Agnes Badcock’s accusation against Joan Essex was deliveredContinue reading “Joan Essex c. Agnes Badcock“
• John Mendis c. John Adam
  In April 1488, several Middlesex men were talking together in the yard of a manor house following a wedding feast when one accused another of being a thief and threatened to drive him from their town of Edgware. The witnesses’ testimony tells usContinue reading “John Mendis c. John Adam“
• Thomas Wulley c. Margaret Isot and John Heth
  This is a fascinating case: witnesses give detailed stories about a local official, with a posse of neighbourhood elders, who burst in on a man and woman, Thomas Wulley and Margaret Isot, engaging in sex.  When questioned, the man claimed that the twoContinue reading “Thomas Wulley c. Margaret Isot and John Heth“
• Office c. Emma Hasill and Sir William Gavon
  The examination of Emma Hasill, though brief, gives us a complex and sad story. A priest, Sir William Gavon, counselled Hasill to leave her husband; this was evidently more than simply pastoral advice, as she then moved into his “chamber” (his bedroom). HerContinue reading “Office c. Emma Hasill and Sir William Gavon”
• Prior and Convent of Blackmore c. Edward Clovell
  This is a tithe dispute: Edward Clovell – evidently a prosperous farmer with several servants working for him – allegedly refused to render the tithe he owed from his harvest on one of his fields when the collectors came for it. Tithes wereContinue reading “Prior and Convent of Blackmore c. Edward Clovell“
• Robert Philipson c Joan Corney
  This is a rural Essex case of lovers pledging their love over a fruit tart eaten in a field – until a father’s hostility split them up. In 1489, Robert Philipson sued Joan Corney to enforce a marriage contract he claimed they hadContinue reading “Robert Philipson c Joan Corney”
• Richard Cressy c. Alice Scrace
  Cressy c. Scrace is an example of an uncontested lawsuit, where the point was not for the plaintiff to confirm or annul a marriage with the defendant but rather for both parties to have the court declare the validity of their union inContinue reading “Richard Cressy c. Alice Scrace”
• Thomas Hall and Thomas Salmon alias Miller c. Denise Pogger
  In 1489, two men competed for the hand of widow Denise Pogger of Leyton, Essex, a woman who had her own house and perhaps more property. Both men presented a set of witnesses, each with a familiar-sounding story, the first of love thwartedContinue reading “Thomas Hall and Thomas Salmon alias Miller c. Denise Pogger“
• John Jenyn c Alice Seton and John Grose
  In a complicated three-cornered case that ran over more than a year, two men, John Jenyn and John Grose, each claimed to be married to Alice Seton. Jenyn’s claim was that he and Seton had married in May 1489, exchanging consent in theContinue reading “John Jenyn c Alice Seton and John Grose”
• Henry Kyrkeby c. Eleanor Roberts
  Testimony in this case gives us fascinating insights into women’s employment conditions and the arrangement of marriage in rural Essex. Henry Kyrkeby’s witnesses claimed that Eleanor Roberts, a servant, agreed to marry him after meeting him once, exchanging binding vows of marriage withContinue reading “Henry Kyrkeby c. Eleanor Roberts“
• Office c. Margaret Agmundesham
  Margaret Agmundesham’s appearance before the Consistory Official may have been the result of an “office” case (where the court undertook an investigation into a matter under its purview), or it may have related to litigation, perhaps a suit brought by the Ann mentionedContinue reading “Office c. Margaret Agmundesham“
• Joan Ponder c. Margaret Samer
  In early 1490, Margaret Samer of Buttsbury, Essex, allegedly said a number of scurrilous things about her neighbour Joan Ponder or more precisely about Joan’s mother: that Joan was not her father’s daughter but instead the product of her mother’s adulterous liaison withContinue reading “Joan Ponder c. Margaret Samer“
• Office c. John Eggot, John Wyndell, Thomas Auger, John Umfrey, and William Herd
  In 1490, five men of the parish of Ramsden Crays in Essex were summoned to the Consistory to explain why they were refusing to pay tithes to their parish priest on their sheep. As this and other tithe cases before the Consistory makeContinue reading “Office c. John Eggot, John Wyndell, Thomas Auger, John Umfrey, and William Herd”
• Christian Hilles c. Robert Padley
  The town of Stanford Rivers, Essex, saw a drama of thwarted love and premarital pregnancy in 1489 and 1490. Christian Hilles and Robert Padley, two servants who worked for the same employer, courted seriously with one another between March and October 1489, exchangingContinue reading “Christian Hilles c. Robert Padley“
• William Calverley and William Case c. Joan Brown
  The recently widowed Joan Brown lived in Stratford Langthorne, in a house large enough to have both a hall and a parlour. Widows with property were attractive marriage prospects, and in the summer of 1490 two men, William Calverley and William Case, suedContinue reading “William Calverley and William Case c. Joan Brown”
• Alice Barbour c. William Barbour
  A mind-boggling aspect of late medieval church courts was the employment of “juries of matrons” in suits for divorce by reason of impotence: the court could order a group of women to investigate on its behalf whether a man was capable of “havingContinue reading “Alice Barbour c. William Barbour”
• Richard Chevircourt and Margery Phillips c. Robert Dow
  The making of a marriage in the fifteenth-century diocese of London was a process rather a single event. One common path was the making of the contract of marriage, an unbreakable bond, in a domestic setting with a few close friends and relationsContinue reading “Richard Chevircourt and Margery Phillips c. Robert Dow”
• Thomas Walker c. Katherine Williamson alias Walker
  According to the witnesses in this case, Katherine Williamson married two men in quick succession in 1482 and early 1483. This case is likely a suit to annul the second marriage rather than to enforce it: the headings indicate that Thomas Walker wasContinue reading “Thomas Walker c. Katherine Williamson alias Walker“
• William Newport c. Isabel Newport
  According to the testimony in this case, Isabel Newport was about as bad a wife as it was possible to be in late fifteenth-century London: she was violent, disobedient, sexually promiscuous, and dishonest. The legal basis for the lawsuit, apparently a petition forContinue reading “William Newport c. Isabel Newport“
• Robert Walsh and Mark Patenson c. Margaret Flemmyng
  Margaret Flemmyng was evidently something of a marital catch, with youth, a substantial marriage portion, and probably also personal charm. Her parents evidently had one idea for her marriage – Robert Walsh, whom they encouraged in his attentions to their daughter – andContinue reading “Robert Walsh and Mark Patenson c. Margaret Flemmyng”
• Office c. Giles Eustas
  Calculating where a person should pay tithes could be complicated: what happened, for instance, when the lands from which a person gained income straddled more than one parish? In this case, brewer Giles Eustas of Highgate was summoned to the Consistory, probably becauseContinue reading “Office c. Giles Eustas“
• Francis [Unknown] c. Elizabeth Clerk
  This is a fragment: someone named Francis evidently sued Elizabeth Clerk, alleging that she had made a contract of marriage with him, and (as below) on examination, she denied his allegations, most of which were implied rather than explicit in her answers, unfortunately.Continue reading “Francis [Unknown] c. Elizabeth Clerk“
• Robert Woode c. Joan Patryk
  In 1491 Joan Patryk accused Robert Woode, a shearman, of having “cut her purse,” literally cutting the cord from which a woman’s pouch or purse hung from her girdle or belt. She alleged this had happened while they, their spouses, and several otherContinue reading “Robert Woode c. Joan Patryk“
• Elizabeth Brown and Marion Lauson  c. Laurence Gilis 
  This is one of the more complicated and interesting cases at the late fifteenth-century London consistory court. The basic case is straightforward: two women, Elizabeth Brown and Marion Lauson, each claim that they contracted marriage with Laurence Gilis. In the end, Gilis andContinue reading “Elizabeth Brown and Marion Lauson  c. Laurence Gilis “
• Robert Warde c. Joan Qualley or Whalley
  Within about five or six weeks of her husband William’s death in September 1491, London widow Joan Qualley or Whalley was receiving offers for her hand. She evidently considered Robert Warde, an ostler working for a local brewer, John Knap (likely the tradeContinue reading “Robert Warde c. Joan Qualley or Whalley“
• Laurence Wyberd and John Austen c. Maude Gyll
  In late 1491, two men – Laurence Wyberd of Essex and John Austen of Shoreditch or London – each claimed that they had made a contract of marriage with Maude Gyll of London. Wyberd’s witnesses (who included his father and brother) gave detailed testimonyContinue reading “Laurence Wyberd and John Austen c. Maude Gyll”
• John Bradfeld c. Joan John
  Witnesses for this defamation case depict a vivid scene of Joan John and John Bradfeld arguing with one another by the Hythe[1], Colchester’s harbour some distance from the city itself. Joan accused John Bradfeld of being a “strong thief” and “a false extortioner.”Continue reading “John Bradfeld c. Joan John”
• Office c. John Barle
  Some amusingly passive-aggressive behaviour on the part of a parishioner in the payment of his tithes in an unspecified Essex parish. John Barle came before the Consistory likely after his parish vicar reported him for not paying his tithes as required. On examination,Continue reading “Office c. John Barle“
• Sir John Lyall c. Sir Thomas Kyrkeham
  This is a case about the complex arrangements regarding the incomes for the support of parish clergy, known as benefices. Benefices were, on the one hand, pieces of property that ecclesiastical authorities, lay institutions such as guilds, and individual laypeople held, bought, andContinue reading “Sir John Lyall c. Sir Thomas Kyrkeham“
• John  Kendall c. Isabel or Elizabeth Wylly
  An apprentice goldsmith named John Kendall sued Isabel (sometimes called Elizabeth[1]) Willy to enforce a contract of marriage he claimed that he had made with her. Kendall’s witnesses presented only circumstantial evidence – that Willy had acknowledged multiple times that she had previouslyContinue reading “John  Kendall c. Isabel or Elizabeth Wylly”
• John Jarard c. Joan Nele alias Fysshe
  In 1492, John Jarard sued Joan Nele, claiming her as his wife; Nele herself admitted that three years before he had given her two gifts, but denied that she received them “for the sake of a marriage” (again, that argument about the meaningContinue reading “John Jarard c. Joan Nele alias Fysshe”
• [Unknown] c. Agnes Punchon
  This is a frustrating kind of record: all we know is that Agnes Punchon appeared in the Consistory in June 1492, and denied whatever it was that an unnamed plaintiff alleged against her. It’s on this website (a) because I am a pedanticContinue reading “[Unknown] c. Agnes Punchon“
• Thomas Philpott c. Margaret Frowyke
  Another case of a man doggedly pursuing a woman, hoping to persuade her to marry him. The responses of Margaret Frowyke give us more details than other similar examinations: the man suing her was named as Thomas Philpott, and the two likely livedContinue reading “Thomas Philpott c. Margaret Frowyke“
• William Pepard c. Alice Mayte
  This is an unusual defamation case: a mother, Alice Mayt, publicly accused a man, William Pepard, of having murdered her son, a child. The witnesses give some interesting details about precisely where each was standing when the words were spoken, at a cornerContinue reading “William Pepard c. Alice Mayte”
• Ellen Mortemer c. William Chowe
  Ellen Mortemer of Bermondsey sued William Chowe in 1492; all we have of the case is Chowe’s response to her submission, which we can infer involved a claim that the two of them had contracted marriage three or four years before. Chowe admittedContinue reading “Ellen Mortemer c. William Chowe”
• Sir Thomas Wiseman c. Sir David Kingesbury
  This case is a tithe dispute between two clerics, one a chaplain sent from an Augustinian priory in Suffolk to a chapel dedicated to St Laurence at Wormley, Hertfordshire, and the other the parish priest of the local parish of Cheshunt. The chaplainContinue reading “Sir Thomas Wiseman c. Sir David Kingesbury“
• Sir John Manyngham c. Edmund Caryngton
  John Manyngham, a priest, sued Edmund Caryngton after Caryngton failed (or so Manyngham alleged) to repay 20 shillings the priest had given him as a loan. As a debtor took an oath to repay the creditor, this kind of case could come intoContinue reading “Sir John Manyngham c. Edmund Caryngton”
• Agnes Crowcher c. John Trewington or Trewerton
  Agnes Crowcher sued John Trewington in 1492 to enforce a contract of marriage she claimed they had made. In responding to her suit, Trewington denied they had made any such contract. We can infer from his answers that she had made a claimContinue reading “Agnes Crowcher c. John Trewington or Trewerton”
• Prior and Convent of Hertford c. John English and John Burton
  The Prior and Convent of Hertford sued John Burton and John English in 1493 to force payment of tithes from their holdings in Amwell Bury Wood. This action ignited a sprawling case from which twenty-six depositions survive, with at least two more impliedContinue reading “Prior and Convent of Hertford c. John English and John Burton”
• Agnes Symson alias Baker c. John Baker
  Only part of this testamentary case survives, leaving the precise matter at issue (and indeed even the question of who was plaintiff and who was defendant) unclear. Luckily, the will in question survives (TNA, PROB 11/8/388) and it throws light on what theContinue reading “Agnes Symson alias Baker c. John Baker”
• Joan Hancok c. Master Henry Aprece
  This is a tale of two Joan Hancoks, sisters-in-law, who appear to have been mistaken for one another several times. The testimony is not entirely clear, but the situation seems to have gone like this: Joan Hancok the elder, who was married toContinue reading “Joan Hancok c. Master Henry Aprece”
• Marion Filders c. John Arnold
  This may be an example of a stalled marriage process: according to the three witnesses, more than two years before, Marion Filders and John Arnold had contracted marriage in the house of John and Elizabeth Hayward in Stratford Langthorne, Essex. The only hintContinue reading “Marion Filders c. John Arnold“
• Christian Wroth c. Denise Barley
  On a Sunday morning in early February 1493, a group of people met in the parish vestry of the church in Enfield, Middlesex, to discuss some problem regarding a wedding that had been planned for that day between Joan Cordewell and Thomas King.Continue reading “Christian Wroth c. Denise Barley”
• Emma Rose c. Thomas Dicons and Margery Dicons
  This case has a somewhat unusual form: a woman named Emma Rose sued a couple, Thomas and Margery Dicons, in order to have her own marriage to Thomas Dicons annulled. As all the witnesses including Thomas himself agreed, his marriage to Emma RoseContinue reading “Emma Rose c. Thomas Dicons and Margery Dicons”
• John Maliber c. Agnes Dalston alias Boste
  John Maliber sued Agnes Dalston alias Boste in 1493, claiming that she had unjustly withheld from him a bequest or legacy from her late husband, Thomas Dalston. Maliber had been Thomas Dalston’s apprentice, only newly beginning the usual seven-year term when Dalston diedContinue reading “John Maliber c. Agnes Dalston alias Boste”
• Joan Munden c. John Fynke
  In this case from the town of Walthamstow in Essex, Joan Munden sued John Fynke to enforce a contract of marriage she claimed he made with her but which he refused to honour. As the testimony indicates, the meaning of gifts and sexContinue reading “Joan Munden c. John Fynke”
• Avice [Unknown] c. Richard Clerk
  For this case, only the response of the defendant survives. We can infer from Richard Clerk’s answers that he had been sued by a woman named Avice who alleged that the two had contracted marriage. He admitted that on a spring day inContinue reading “Avice [Unknown] c. Richard Clerk”
• William Plumbe c. Richard Reynold
  This seems a straightforward debt case: William Plumbe sued Richard Reynold over a two-year-old loan of ten shillings that Reynold had only partially repaid. It is worthy of note, however, that the witnesses’ evidence is vague on the central legal issue: debts couldContinue reading “William Plumbe c. Richard Reynold”
• William Yewle and Thomas Grey c. Katherine Garington
  In 1493 William Yewle and Thomas Grey both sued Katherine Garington, each claiming she had contracted marriage with him. As her father Robert Elys had a different surname, on first glance it seems likely she was a widow, suggesting one reason (property fromContinue reading “William Yewle and Thomas Grey c. Katherine Garington”
• Richard Cordey c. Lettice Smyth
  In November 1493, Richard Cordey sued Lettice Smyth to enforce a marriage contract he claimed to have made with her. He was unable, however, to produce witnesses who could claim unambiguously to have been present when the two said the requisite words ofContinue reading “Richard Cordey c. Lettice Smyth”
• Alice [Unknown] c. John Remyngton
  Though only the response of the defendant survives for this case and even the full name of the plaintiff is unknown, we can infer some of her claims from John Remyngton’s denials: she evidently argued that they had exchanged tokens of marriage andContinue reading “Alice [Unknown] c. John Remyngton”
• Office c. Henry Baker and Thomas Pursot
  When John Rawlyn of the Essex town of Ulting died in 1493, he left a testament in which the name of one of the executors, “a certain Carr” of Chelmsford, was crossed out. This raised suspicions that the document had been tampered with,Continue reading “Office c. Henry Baker and Thomas Pursot”
• William Ely c. Master Richard Draper
  In theory excommunication – expulsion from the community of the faithful – was a drastic measure in medieval Christianity. In late medieval England, however, it was most often used for relatively mild rather than terrible sins, particularly for the failure to obey summonses,Continue reading “William Ely c. Master Richard Draper”
• Master John Clavering c. Richard or John Swan
  John Clavering, a parish priest with an M.A. degree from Oxford who bounced around from one lucrative parish to another (in 1493 he was both rector of Twickenham and vicar of Staines),[1] seems also to have dabbled in the retail of wine: whenContinue reading “Master John Clavering c. Richard or John Swan”
• Office c. Henry Newlond and Joan Gardyner
  This was a disciplinary case: Henry Newlond and Joan Gardyner had gone ahead and formalized their marriage despite Henry having been strictly forbidden from entering into any marital contracts while another case against him was pending. There are some interesting aspects of hisContinue reading “Office c. Henry Newlond and Joan Gardyner”
• Herbert Rowland c. Elizabeth Croft; Margaret Hordley c. Herbert Rowland
  In this pair of related 1494 cases, first Herbert Rowland sued Elizabeth Croft to claim her as his wife and then Margaret Hordley sued Herbert Rowland to claim that he had previously married her. A conspiracy-minded person (i.e. me) might suspect that theContinue reading “Herbert Rowland c. Elizabeth Croft; Margaret Hordley c. Herbert Rowland”
• Cecily Clerk c. William Huntingfeld
  In 1494 a London woman named Cecily Clerk sued William Huntingfeld for defamation. Four men who came forth as witnesses detailed Huntingfeld’s campaign of harassment against Clerk conducted across a multitude of venues, stemming perhaps (as one witness suggested) from a quarrel betweenContinue reading “Cecily Clerk c. William Huntingfeld”
• Alice Brigge c. William Markis
  This defamation case from the Essex parishes south of Colchester tells us a number of interesting things both about local-level dispute resolution and about sexual chastity and an unmarried woman’s reputation. At least according to the witnesses called to testify on Alice Brigge’sContinue reading “Alice Brigge c. William Markis”
• Maude Bywel c. Elisabeth or Isabel Jeld
  A husband and wife from Edmonton, Middlesex, testified in 1494 about a quarrel amongst women on the street outside their house. A physical altercation was followed by insulting words, and it was the words and their effect that were at issue here (asContinue reading “Maude Bywel c. Elisabeth or Isabel Jeld“
• Elizabeth Pernell c. Elizabeth Pecoke
  This is a somewhat curious case. It starts out straightforwardly with a witness saying that she heard the defendant, Elizabeth Pecoke, defaming the plaintiff, Elizabeth Pernell, with a rumour of sexual impropriety: Pecoke allegedly told the witness that Pecoke was being “kept” byContinue reading “Elizabeth Pernell c. Elizabeth Pecoke”
• John Grey c. Josia Milner
  Another short and sweet case (or maybe not so sweet for the defendant). John Grey evidently sued Josia Milner to force her to recognize a marriage solemnized between them three years before. Her defence was that she was already married at that timeContinue reading “John Grey c. Josia Milner”
• John Fern c. Henry Heed
  John Fern, a young man likely from South Mimms, Hertfordshire, came to London to apprentice himself to a citizen ironmonger, Henry Heed. The paternalistic relationship that should have developed between the master and apprentice evidently broke down and Heed publicly accused Fern atContinue reading “John Fern c. Henry Heed”
• Thomas Laurence c. Agnes Jaco alias Sawier
  This is one of those Consistory suits that is not really adversarial: both plaintiff Thomas Laurence and defendant Agnes Jaco alias Sawier appear to have wanted to be married to one another. There may in fact have been another plaintiff only obliquely indicatedContinue reading “Thomas Laurence c. Agnes Jaco alias Sawier”
• William Gilbert c. Ellen Harrison
  This set of depositions all appear to point to the same set of facts, with some minor differences of memory as to what day the transactions took place: William Gilbert and Ellen Harrison exchanged vows of consent to marry before several men andContinue reading “William Gilbert c. Ellen Harrison”
• Agnes Eston c. John Crosby
  In 1494, a young servant woman, Agnes Eston, sued John Crosby. The two had been spending time alone in her chamber, with her employers encouraging the relationship and turning a blind eye to the impropriety. Eston alleged that the two had exchanged bindingContinue reading “Agnes Eston c. John Crosby”
• Unknown c. William Eve and William Hayward Jr.
  These depositions are not especially informative about the substance of this lawsuit (or possibly disciplinary proceedings?) about a will – even the name of the party bringing it forward is unclear. William Hayward Sr. died in August 1493; as other evidence indicates, heContinue reading “Unknown c. William Eve and William Hayward Jr.”
• Office c. Master John Asshwell
  Master John Asshwell – tangentially involved in two other Consistory cases over previous months in 1494, Laurence c Jaco and Unknown c Eve and Hayward – was the curate of Chelmsford parish church; this meant that he had “cure of souls” for hisContinue reading “Office c. Master John Asshwell”
• Elizabeth Kirkhouse c. Richard Haymond and Emma Cowper
  In this lawsuit, the deponents, including defendant Richard Haymond himself, all tell different parts of the same story, that Richard was already married to Elizabeth Kirkhouse when a year later he bigamously married Emma Cowper. The point of the lawsuit was clearly toContinue reading “Elizabeth Kirkhouse c. Richard Haymond and Emma Cowper”
• James Ely c. Sir William Kirkham
  In this defamation case, a quarrel between a parish priest and one of his parishioners appears to have become heated. James Ely, the parishioner, sued the priest Sir[1] William Kirkham for publicly insulting him multiple times, including from the pulpit during Sunday mass.Continue reading “James Ely c. Sir William Kirkham”
• Margaret Shewyn alias Howsyn c. Adam Bagby
  This is a case of disputed inheritance, the suit revolving around whether legacies made by oral bequest were to be honoured even when not specified in the testament. Margaret Shewyn’s witnesses testified that Elizabeth Smyth had several times orally bequeathed to her aContinue reading “Margaret Shewyn alias Howsyn c. Adam Bagby“
• Agnes Moyne and Margaret Broke c Christopher Kechyn
  Christopher Kechyn, a carpenter of mature years, was busy in 1496, contracting marriage with at least three young women. This brought him in early 1497 before both the Consistory – where two of those women, Agnes Moyne and Margaret Broke, sued him toContinue reading “Agnes Moyne and Margaret Broke c Christopher Kechyn”
• Christopher Bradley c Margaret Bradley
  In May 2024, I found in the London Consistory records this highly unusual case of an apparent intersex person. She[1] was Margaret Bradley of Edmonton and Hackney, Middlesex, whose husband Christopher sued her in 1522 to annul their marriage. Six women, three midwivesContinue reading “Christopher Bradley c Margaret Bradley”

Cases by Category

Cases by Subject

Abduction Adultery Agricultural life Alimony Apprenticeship Arbitration Arranging marriage Banns Bastardy Bigamy Books Canon law impediments Childbirth Clerical violence Clothes Clothing Coercion Conditional contract of marriage Courtship Debt Divorce (annullment) Divorce (judicial separation) Divorce for adultery Divorce for cruelty Divorce for impotence Documents and writing Domestic contract Ecclesiastical court officials Employers & marriage discussions Employers and marriage discussions Employers sexually misbehaving with servants Food and drink Fornication Impeding marriage Imposters Intermediaries in marriage arrangement Leprosy Literacy Litigation strategies Marital sex Marriage contract Marriage finance settlements Marriage gifts Midwives Murder allegation Neighbourhood surveillance Nonbinary sexuality Parental/Guardian Consent Parish priests Penance Perjury Premarital pregnancy Premarital sex Priests and sexual misbehaviour Prostitution Self-divorce Sequestration Sexual insults Solemnization/wedding Sports Spousal violence Street quarrel Suspension and Excommunication Tavern contract Taverns Theft allegation Tithes Trustworthiness Wedding clothes Wedding feast Widows Widows and remarriage Wills Women's employment Women and employment